What's Happening

September 24, 2024, Adrian, Michigan – A new immigration procedure announced last month by the Biden Administration could provide a “smoother, simpler process” for spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens to gain permanent legal status in the United States, Sister Attract Kelly, OP, JD, said. The process, Parole in Place, allows qualified spouses and stepchildren to apply directly through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began on August 19, 2024. However, the process is temporarily halted while it is being challenged in the courts.

Sister Attracta, Director of the Adrian Dominican Sisters Office of Immigrant Assistance and an immigration attorney, said in a September 13, 2024, presentation that the Parole in Place policy would allow approximately 55,000 immigrants to adjust their status while remaining in the United States. 

Before the policy took effect, Sister Attracta explained, the only way for the undocumented immigrant spouse of a U.S. citizen to obtain permanent legal status “was to go back to [their] home country and maybe [they] might have to stay there for three years, even a year, or five years, or 10 years, or sometimes more,” until they could meet with a U.S. Consul in their home country. “So that’s why Parole in Place would make an enormous difference,” she said. “It would mean they would not have to worry about going back to their home country” and possibly not being allowed to return to the United States and their family.

However, Sister Attracta noted that the “Parole in Place” or “Keeping Families Together” process has been temporarily halted due to a lawsuit against Homeland Security by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and a coalition of 16 states. She praised undocumented immigrants and their families who found the courage to file a motion on August 26, 2024, to defend the plan.

Should Parole in Place be reinstated after the court case, the Adrian Dominican Sisters Office of Immigration Services will be available to help spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens begin the application process for permanent legal status. Call 517-266-3526.

Learn more about the immigration system and Parole in Place by watching the entire presentation.
 

August 13, 2024, Adrian, Michigan – A new process allowing certain undocumented spouses and step-children of U.S. citizens to apply for lawful permanent residence (a green card) without leaving the United States begins August 19, 2024. At that time, the Adrian Dominican Sisters Immigration Assistance Office is available to help determine eligibility and assistance in the process.

The Process to Promote the Unity and Stability of Families was announced by the Biden Administration on June 18, 2024, and could impact about 500,000 spouses and 50,000 step-children of U.S. citizens. To be eligible, spouses and step-children must be present in the United States without admission or parole and have been continuously present in the United States for at least 10 years as of June 17, 2024. Spouses must have been legally married to a U.S. citizen as of June 17, 2024.

“We hope that word spreads,” Sister Attracta said. She encourages local families who qualify for the new process to contact her office after Monday, August 19, 2024, at 517-266-3526 for information and legal assistance.

In the meantime, Sister Attracta encourages the families to begin work on documentation – to prove that the spouse and stepchildren of a U.S. citizen have been in the United States for 10 years and that the spouse and the U.S. citizen have been married since at least June 18, 2024. “A lot of documentation is going to be required,” she said, and the sooner that process is completed, the sooner the spouse and stepchildren can apply for legal resident status.

Sister Attracta said that the new policy is a great benefit to eligible immigrants. “Before this new process, if someone came here illegally and was married to a U.S. citizen, they had to go back [to their country] while waiting for legal status,” she explained. “It could be three years or a five-year bar or a 10-year bar” before their case could be heard. 

The immigrant spouses “have been here for so many years,” Sister Attracta explained. “They have been working. They have been paying taxes.” Many are petrified at the idea of returning to their native country while they wait for the process to be completed. Allowing them to stay in the United States during this process is a gift, Sister Attracta said. 

She hopes to help as many families as possible to go through the process quickly, to give the spouse and stepchildren the security of legal resident status in the United States. 

Those who are eligible can apply for this process beginning on Monday, August 19, 2024. Applications submitted before that date will be rejected. In the meantime, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) offers preliminary information on eligibility, documents to prepare for this process, and how to avoid scams. Access this information in English and in Spanish.

Up-to-date information on this immigration process can be found here.

To schedule a consultation with the Adrian Dominican Sisters Immigration Assistance Office after August 19, call 517-266-3526.